The Women of Brewster Place

2.5 Believably melodramatic until the absolute betrayal in “The Two”

This is a great book, with the exception of the ending. It was anti-climactic, and it didn't provide any closure for the reader. I understand that the author was being symbolic, but the effect was flat and lifeless and false. It's a shame that the ending was so dull because the rest of the book had kept me hooked throughout. If the end had lived up to the promise of the rest of it then this review would have been a full five stars, no question. As it is, the bad ending can't diminish the excellent story/stories that came before.

A gorgeous novel with compelling characters and several interesting plot lines. I enjoyed most how Naylor effectively utilized symbols which could very easily have been cliche.